Kalamazoo was one of nine Michigan cities listed on the Improving Markets Index from the National Association of Home Builders in December.

The 16-month-old index, which is compiled by the NAHB and First American, is meant to identify metropolitan areas that are expanding. To make the list, a city has to have shown improvement in housing
permits, employment and house prices for at least six consecutive months.

Kalamazoo's housing permits hit a low in July 2010 and
have improved 3 percent since then, according to the index. Home prices, which
hit their low one year ago in December 2011, have climbed 5.7 percent over the
past 12 months. Employment in the industry also has grown 1.8 percent over the past year.

Other Michigan cities that made this month's list included Holland,
Grand Rapids and Jackson.

Kalamazoo had plenty of company – the index added 76 cities
nationwide in December for a total of 201, and the number of states with at least one improving
market climbed from 38 in November to 44, plus the District of Columbia.

"The big gain in improving markets this December
indicates that key measures of housing and economic strength have now been
holding steady or improving in metros across the country for six months or
more, which is an important signal of stability amidst the slowly emerging
recovery," said Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the NAHB, in a statement.

The IMI measures three sets of independent monthly data: employment
growth from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, housing price appreciation from
Freddie Mac and single-family housing permit growth from the U.S. Census Bureau.

A metropolitan area must see improvement in all three
measures for at least six consecutive months after hitting a trough before
being added to the list.

"This fourth consecutive month of expansion in the IMI,
coupled with the fact that well over half of all metro areas are now
represented on the list, is in keeping with the upward trends that we've been
seeing all year," said David Crowe, chief economist for the NAHB, in a
statement.

"In general, we expect the overall housing recovery to
continue expanding in 2013," said Crowe.